Category: News

Alphons K J inaugurating the laser show in Rohtak on September 12 We all might have seen numerous laser shows, but this one in Rohtak is something special. The show, organised by tourism department, depicts the story from Mahabharata to the 1857 revolution. The first laser show was inaugurated by Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons at Rohtak’s Tilial lake on September 12. At a cost of Rs 540 crores, it took almost 4 years to complete the multimedia light and sound system in Tiliar. The one hour show, starting at 7 pm, will also show the cultura and history of ... Read more

The Canadian Government has issued travel advisories for multiple countries, referring to numerous threats that have Canadian travellers at risk currently, such as Zika virus, terrorism threats, and extreme weather. Some destinations are under extreme alerts while others are only reminding travellers that there are dangerous situations abroad. The Canadian government has issued advisories to Philippines, Chad, Barbados, Japan, Guadeloupe, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Martinique, Saint Lucia, United States, Montserrat and Dominican Republic. The government warns travellers not to travel to the Babuyan Islands in Philippines due to a super typhoon that’s currently in the area. There is also a travel advisory in Davao City, ... Read more

CM Nithish Kumar flag off the bus service between Bihar to Nepal (Photo Courtesy: PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has flagged off the first ever direct bus service between Bihar and Nepal on Tuesday, 11th August 2018. An air-conditioned deluxe bus will link two cities in Bihar – Patna and Bodh Gaya; and two in Nepal – Kathmandu and Janakpur. “This bus service will further strengthen the relations between India and Nepal. It will prove very beneficial for Buddhist tourists in the two places,” said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar while inaugurating the bus service. The project is initiated ... Read more

Vallabh Government Degree College at Mandi Himachal Pradesh is seeking approval for a 50 crore tourism development fund from Asian Development Bank. It was informed by Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, while addressing a public meeting at Vallabh Government Degree College at Mandi. Under the project, a lake and other basic tourism infrastructure would be developed to take Mandi town on the world tourist map. “A helipad would also be constructed at Kangnidhar in order to provide heli-taxi facility to the region,” he added. The state have plan to construct a Medical University at New Chowk to ... Read more

Kerala Tourism has put forth a 12-point Action Plan to overcome the crisis in the sector due to the recent floods. The time-bound action plan is aimed at increasing tourist arrivals in the upcoming peak season through aggressive marketing campaign within the country and in source markets of Kerala abroad. “Tourism programmes will not be cancelled in the name of cost control,” said Kadakmpally Surendran, Tourism Minister. He was talking to the media at Thiruvananthapuram. Cancelling tourism programmes may give an impression that Kerala is still under the chaos of flood. The ministry is planning aggressive campaigns to alleviate this ... Read more

The 2018 edition of Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), the largest gathering of tourism stakeholders in the state, will be held from 27th to 30th September, in Kochi. The inaugural session of the four-day event, being organised by the KTM Society in association with the State Tourism Department, will be held at hotel Grand Hyatt, Bolgatty, on September 27. A series of buyer-seller meets, seminars and policy deliberations will take place at Samudrika and Sagara Convention Centre at the Willingdon Island. ‘Malabar tourism’ will be the theme of this year’s KTM and will focus on the nine rivers of north Kerala. The ... Read more

The tourism ministry is readying to hold business-to-consumer road-shows in foreign countries for the first time and is considering using Bollywood stars such as Aamir Khan to promote India in key markets such as China where they command a huge fan following, said Union minister KJ Alphons. The tourism ministry is planning to conduct business-to-consumer road-shows abroad for the first time. It is considering association of Bollywood starts such as Aamir Khan for the promotion of India in the key markets like China, where they have huge fan following, said the Union Minister for Tourism, KJ Alphons. “Revenue from foreign ... Read more

IIE Officials at the press meeting at Guwahati (Picture Courtesy: Manash Das) Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) is organizing ‘North East Adventure Tourism Festival’ at Bogamati in Baksa district of Assam, from 13th to 16th September 2018. This is the first time an adventure tourism festival is being held in the region. “The festival is being organised with support from the North East Council, Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Assam Tourism Development Corporation, Bodoland Tourism, state directorate of sports and youth welfare and India Tourism,” stated the IIE festival Organising Committee at a press conference on Tuesday, 11th September 2018. Various ... Read more

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has launched a scheme, ‘Viability Gap Scheme’ for exploiting and encouraging private investment in Tourism Sector on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode. It was informed by the Secretary, Tourism Department, Jammu & Kashmir on Tuesday . “Private companies intending to make investment under PPP mode can contact the office of Directorate of Tourism Jammu/Kashmir and Chief Executives Officer of various Development Authorities of Tourism Department,” said the Tourism Secretary. The scheme would involve investment in infrastructure used by tourists and earning revenue through levy of fee or user charges on the visitors. Revenue generating tourism ... Read more

Dubai International Airport (DXB) has retained its position as the world’s number one international airport for the fourth consecutive year in 2017 with annual passenger traffic exceeding 88.2 million passengers. The airport connects 240 destinations around the world through about 140 airlines and is expected to serve 90.2 million passengers in 2018, said Dubai Airports’ CEO Paul Griffiths, providing an update on the first half of 2018. Of the two runways of DXB, one needs a total refurbishment and during a 45-day period starting in April 2019, the runway will be closed for a full redevelopment programme. “We are working ... Read more

The Indian Railways is planning to give a new name to replace its existing name Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The decision to change the name surfaces after the Railways department feel that the name it has now is not attractive and the abbreviation is not cute enough. Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal has asked the the higher officials of the railways to find an attractive name. The ministry has asked to keep the brand name small, attractive and easy to remember. The ministry has conducted an online competition earlier in January through its website seeking suggestions to ... Read more

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) is planning a three-city roadshow in India, along with partners and stakeholders, to help promote the emirate and encourage more Indian visitors to explore Abu Dhabi. The delegation includes UAE’s national carrier Etihad Airways, Jet Airways, Yas Experiences, Dusit Thani, Royal Arabian, Air Travel Enterprise, Sofitel and Rotana. The delegation will be visiting India from September 17–21. The roadshow will commence in New Delhi, and then proceed to Chennai and concludes in Bengaluru. “India is a vital tier one source market for us, which is providing more and ... Read more

The big floods have had a blow on the tourism in Kerala, especially the hilly destination Munnar. Hardly a couple of weeks after the floods, Munnar is coming back as the Neelakurinji started blooming in many parts. In a bid to revive the tourism sector in the flood-hit Munnar, the associations of Hotels, Resorts, Tour Operators, Merchant’s Associations, and Activity organisers are coming together to conduct a car and bike rally. The rally, conducted in association with The Department of Tourism, will start from Kochi and reach Munnar, covering major town in Kochi and Idukki districts. The rally will begin from ... Read more

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is offering you insurance coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh for financial protection against train accidents and other untoward incidents, including robbery, at a near-zero premium of 68 paise. IRCTC have been providing travellers free and mandatory travel insurance each time you book a ticket through its website or mobile app. Effective September 1, the service provider charge you 68 paise for the insurance coverage. While booking tickets on the IRCTC website, you can find an option on “Travel Insurance” where you can choose whether you want travel insurance or not. The ... Read more

Vancouver East The Canadian government has revised its travel advisory for Pakistan and removed Islamabad from the list of “avoid non-essential travel” cities. “It has been observed that there is a decrease in risk level for Canadians to travel to Islamabad,” said a release from Global Affairs Department. The Pakistani high commissioner had impressed upon the Canadian authorities to revise the advisory for Pakistan as the security situation in the country had improved significantly. In the first step towards that direction, the Canadian government informed about excluding Islamabad from the “avoid non-essential travel” category and said that further steps will ... Read more